Trough for use in connection with cages or the like



Feb. 27, 192:3, N 1,446,740.

H. EUMMELEN.

THOUGH FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH CAGES OR THE LIKE.

FILED AUG.2 2, I921- Patented Feb. 27, 1923.

WED STATE HENRY EU MELEN or san'ra nna, onnrronnm.

PATENT new'e 'rnouen FOR use IN comvnonron wlrnoaens OR'THELIKEZ Application filed August 22, 1921. 7, Serial No. 494,164.

the following is'a specification. v

This invention, has. to do with a trough useful in connectionwith a bird-cage or the like. It is an object of the invention to provide a particularly simple,efiective and convenient device of this charactengfl K The device of the presentinvention is adapted to be used in connection witha cage to carry material such for. instance, as

Water, seed, etc. i It is to be understood,

however, that thedevice of thepresent ,in-

vention is not limited to carrying any particular material nor "to use in connectlon,

with any specific form or kind of cage,

, ,A particular feature-of the inventionis the means provided for attaching the device toa cage so that it will be maintained the proper operative position and so'that it can be readily and effectively arranged in cages of various sizes.

Another feature of the IIIVGIltlOII s the provision of a neck between the reservoir and the trough which'will allow material to flow readily from the reservoir to the trough.

This particular feature-oi.- the. invention is erally, a bottom. 11, atop 12, a plurality Of noteworthy in that it permits of the device being used to carry material, such as coin-U paratively coarse seed, or the l1ke,,wh1chotherwise could not be used in an ordinary device of this character. at

The objects and features'of the invention, including those hereinabove, pointedv out, will be best and more fully understood from the accompanying drawings, in Which:'-'

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a typical bird-cage showing the device of the present "2 is an enlarged side elevation of the device provided'by the present invention; Fig. 2-5

is a plan section taken as indicated by line Z? -8 on Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a vertical central section taken as indicated by line 4-4 on Fig. 3.

Throughout the drawings numerallOdes ignates a typical bird-cagecomprising, genfollowing detailed 1 description --of .1 a typical embodiment of the invent on throughout which reference isv had to j the.

vertical regularlyspaced bars 13 extending a between the edges of the bottom 10 and the T edges of the top 12,.a'nd aplurality'of transverse, bars Marrangedintermediate the bot.-

tom lland' top 1 2and, forming connections between the vertical bars 13.;It will be unw of that in connectionfwithfwhich the device of thQ:PIC$QIltpl11V6I1tlOI1 may be used and i that the device is, intact, not limited touse derstood,-..of course, that this particular form. g dc ns ru ion of cage is ,merely typical,

in 7 connection with; any particular cage, for 1' in pract ce cages vary considerably. in design, form and proportion dependingupon the situationf in which they are to be arranged and upon the birds or animals to, be

confined in them. i

The device lo provided presentin z,75 such as the cage 10 comprises, generally, an

vention for use inconnectionwith a cage open-top trough'loadapted to be arranged within a cage 10,a'reservoi'r.17, carried at v the outside of thecagal a socket l8'adapted to removably carrytlie reservoir-".17, and a neck part 19 connecting the trough 16 with v.

the'socket 18 and. adapted:toextend outwar'cllyand upwardly from the connecting part to the socket 18Jinthe manner clearly illustrated inthe drawings. c

{The trough 16 co mprisestwo flatparalle'lp vertical ,sides 20,",fan outer end 21, anda somewhat. cupped, or downwardly curved, bottom 22. The sides- 20 i are spaced, apart sotha't the trough can bemoved between two adj acentyvertical bars-13 of the cage 10 when '1I1 tl16 upright or operative position The sides 20 are comparatively high, ma'king it obviousthat; the, trough cannot be moved between theb-ars 13 when in. a 'hori 951 zontal position,.or in any position'otherthana' vertical position. The bottom 22 being somewhat cupped downwardly in the man-; ner clearly" shown in Figs. ,2 and 4, makes fore capable of holding or'carrying a comp parativelylarge amount of water or feed, as Y invention in operative position therein; Fig. i

the trough comparatively deep andtherethe case mayflfbe. When the bottom 22 is formed in a manner suchas'is shown in. the

accordance with the invention a plurality of spaced bars l6. extend transverselyacross the top of theitrough between the, top edges eral pairs of grooves, any one of which is of the sides 20. The bars prevent the birds in the cage from scratching the feed out of the trough yet allow them to eat it freely.

The neck 19, in accordance with the 1nvention, is preferably straight and extends For instance, if the deviceis'tobe used to handle'particularly coarse material, thatis material which will-not readily flow, it is desirable that the neck be arranged more nearly vertical thanabove specified andthat it be comparatively large in crosssection'al confi uration.

the upper end is open with the socketlS;

The socket 18- is shaped'and proportioned to properly and accurately receive the base- 30 of the reservoir 17 and therefore mayin practice vary considerably in form, design and construction. The reservoir 17 may, 1n. practice, be any ClGSlIGCl slze, shape,-or formation, it being important only that it be formedwith a base 3O which will detach ably and'tightly fit the socket 18.

At opposite sides of the neck 19 there is a plurality of substantially vertical recesses orgrooves 30 adapted to receive vertical bars 13' of the cage 10. The several grooves 30 at the two sides of the device are in register or directly opposite each other'to form sevadapted to receive two adjacent bar's-13 of a cage 10. The grooves 30 are sufficiently wide or large to receive the bars13-of an ordinary cage and extend the entire height ofneck 19. From inspection of the draw ings, and particularly from inspection of Fig. 3 of the drawings, it will benoted thatthe neck 19 is substantially the width of the trough 16 where it joins the trough andthat its sides diverge outwardly so that'lit is con siderably .wider than the trough 16 whereit joins the socket 18. The pair of-grooves'80' closest to the trough 16'are of such depth that their bottoms are substantially in line with the outer surfaces of the sides 20 of the trough 16. The sides ofthe-neck 19 divergingfrom the trough toward the-socket cause the grooves 30 to be wider apart at the socket end of the neck than at the'trough end. The sides of the neck in diverging from the trough toward-the neck form inclined or wedge surfaces 10 between the pairs of grooves 30. The pairof-grooves 30 closest the trough is adapted to; receive vertical bars 13 which are spaced apartjust suiiiciently to allowpassage of the' trough '16- between them. The other pairs of groovesare adapted to receive vertical bars which The neck 19 may,-

The lower end of the neck 19, of course, opens into the trough 16, whileare wider apartthan those just described. In placing the device in the cage the trough is moved inwardly between the bars 13 until the bars engage the wedge surfaces 40 of the neck; Furtherinward movement of the device causes the wedge surfaces 10 to spring the bars 13'apart untilthey enter the grooves 30. The particular pair of grooves used in mounting the device'in'any particular cage \vill, ofcour'se,- depend upon'the spacing of the bars 13. If the; device-is tobe placed-in a cage wheretliebars'are spaced a considerable distance apart apair of grooves at the socket en'dof' the ne'ck will be-use'd'. Inthe drawings I have shown only three pair of grooves 30 as one of' three pairs of grooves such as are shown" in=tl1e drawings will ordina'r'ily" accommodate theb-ar's of 1 an average cage; It will be-ur'id'erstoodibf course, that any desired number of pairs of grooves-may be readily formedin the device andthat the inclination of the 'wedge"surfacesAO may be such that they will effectively wedge apart orspread'the bars 13'toallowplacement of the "device r in operating position. When two adjacent vertical'bars 13 of a cage 10 are carriedin' a pair of grooves 30'the device will'beproperly held'in an upright or 0per. ative position no' furtlier means' is necessary forthe holding of the device. In practice, of course, the" device is rested upon the bottom of thecage' or Y upon one of the I transversebars 14in the manner illustrated in Figil. Thedevice" has somewhat more weight outward of the centerof the neck than" it has inwa'rdly of itg'thus-"tending to bender spring the'bairs 13*so that-the outer end of the trough extends" upwardly or is somewhat higher than the inner endthereof. To ompensate for'thisI' prefer tof orm the grooves 30 atsomewhat of an angle as'shown inFig; 2. The angle is made just sufficient to normallycompensate" for" the springing of the "barsdue to" the excessweight outward of the centers of the neck. From inspectionpf Fig.2itwill beseen" that the grooves *30' incline "toward' the j trough 16;

From the-foregoing description the opera-' tion of the device will be obvious." The "res er'voir 17' is" filled with" material, say for instance water" or'a suitable feed and is arranged inconnection"with the socket 18 whileth'e device iscom'pletel'y' detached from the cage. The res'er'voir'li,isyof' course, held in an inverted position while being filled andthe entire device is not turned to an-uprightpositioiiuntil the base of the rese'rvoiris iii-placeinthe'socket 18.. Then the device is turned to the upright position the fluid or materialfromthe reservoir will flow into the trough 16 until the trough is approximately auras until the material in the-trough seals the enfdx of the neck 19 to stop the" flow" from: 'the reservoir into the tween two adjacent bars 13 until the bars wider than the trough and provided at opexpensive of manufacture.

are engaged by the wedge surfaces 40 of the neck. Inward pressure on the device will then cause the wedge parts to spread the bars 13 until the bars enter the pair of grooves 30 best adapted to receive them.

From the foregoing description it will be understood how the trough, neck, and socket may be cast or otherwise formed as a unit, for instance, how they may be formed of a single body of glass or metal, and that the device is not only particularly simple and convenient of operation but is simple and in- A The neck 19 being straight and disposed, at an angle allows material to readily flow from the reservoir to the trough and permits of the device being used to carry material which could not be handled in an ordinary device of this character. 7

Having described only a preferred form of my invention I do not wish to limit myself to the particular details herein set forth but wish to reserve to myself any changes or variations that may fall within the scope of the followin claims.

Having described a preferred form of my invention, I claim 1. A device adapted to be used'in combination with a cage having vertical bars, comprising, a trough adapted tobe passed horizontally between adjacent bars in an upright position, and a reservoir in connection withthe outer end of the trough, the structure being provided at the outer end of the troughwith a plurality of pairs of oppositely disposed grooves adapted to receive bars to hold the structure in position with the trough extending into the cage, the grooves of the plurality of pairs being spaced different distances apart to receive bars spaced different distances apart.

2A device to be used in combination with a cage having vertical bars, comprising, a trough adapted to be passed horizontally between adjacent bars in an upright position, and a reservoir in connection with the outer end of the trough, the structure being provided at oppositesides at the outer end of the trough with straight grooves inclined slightly toward the trough and adapted to receive the bars to hold the structure in upright position with theytrough extending into the cage.

A device adapted to be used in combination with a cage having straight vertical spaced bars, comprising, a trough of a width which allows it to be freely passed horizontally into the cage between adjacent bars when in operative position, a reservoir in connection with the outer part of the trough, and a part at theouter end of the trough posite sides with vertical grooves adapted to receive the bars to hold the structure in to be freely passed horizontally. into the cage between adjacent bars in an upright position, a reservoir in connection with the outer end of the trough, and a part at the v outer end of the trough wider than the trough and provided at opposite sides with oppositely disposed vertical grooves adapted to receive the bars to holdthe structure in upright position with the trough extendinginto the cage, said part having an inclined surface adapted to cause spread- 'ing of the bars upon placement of the structure between the bars so that the bars are received by the grooves. v a

' 5. A device adapted-to be used in combination with a cage having straight vertical spaced bars, comprising, a trough adapted to be freely passed horizontally inthe cage.

between adjacent bars in an upright posi- 'tion, a reservoir in connection with the outer end of the trough, anda part at the outer end of the trough wider than the trough and having outwardly divergin side walls with oppositely disposed vvertica grooves adapted to receive the bars to hold the structure in uprightposition with the H trough extending into the cage, the divergence of theside walls of said part being such I i as to cause spreading of the bars upon placement'of the structure'between the bars so that the bars are received by the grooves.

6. A- device adapted to be used in combination with acage having, vertical bars comprising, a trough adapted tobe passed 1'05 horizontally into the cage between adjacent bars in an upright position, a reservoir in,

connection with the outer end of the trough,

and a part of the outer .endof the trough wider than the trough and having outwardly diverging side walls, there being a plurality of pairs of oppositely disposed verticalgrooves in the side walls of said part adapted to receive the bars to hold "the; structure in an upright position with the trough extending into the cage," the pairs of'grooves being located at points where the said part is of different widths so that they are adapted to receive bars spaced different distances apart.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this16th day of August, 192 1 Witness:

VIRGINIA BERINGER. 1

J HENRY EUMMELEN. 

